Manufactured Building and Mobile Home Installers
Move or install mobile homes or prefabricated buildings.
📋Key Responsibilities
- •Seal open sides of modular units to prepare them for shipment, using polyethylene sheets, nails, and hammers.
- •Move and set up mobile homes or prefabricated buildings on owners' lots or at mobile home parks.
- •Inspect, examine, and test the operation of parts or systems to evaluate operating condition and to determine if repairs are needed.
- •Connect water hoses to inlet pipes of plumbing systems, and test operation of plumbing fixtures.
- •Remove damaged exterior panels, repair and replace structural frame members, and seal leaks, using hand tools.
- •List parts needed, estimate costs, and plan work procedures, using parts lists, technical manuals, and diagrams.
- •Confer with customers or read work orders to determine the nature and extent of damage to units.
- •Install, repair, and replace units, fixtures, appliances, and other items and systems in mobile and modular homes, prefabricated buildings, or travel trailers, using hand tools or power tools.
💡Inside This Career
The manufactured home installer sets up prefabricated buildings—moving mobile homes, assembling modular units, and preparing the structures that affordable housing depends on. A typical day centers on installation work. Perhaps 75% of time goes to setup: positioning homes, leveling foundations, connecting utilities, joining modular sections. Another 15% involves repair—fixing transit damage, adjusting components, addressing structural issues. The remaining time addresses customer coordination and site preparation.
People who thrive as manufactured home installers combine construction skills with mechanical ability and the physical capability that heavy structural work requires. Successful installers develop proficiency with setup procedures while building the precision that proper leveling demands. They must achieve exact positioning—homes that are not level develop problems. Those who struggle often cannot handle the physical demands or find the outdoor work challenging. Others fail because they cannot achieve the precision that proper installation requires.
Manufactured home installation represents specialized construction, with workers setting up the prefabricated housing that serves millions of families. The field provides affordable housing options and requires skilled installation. Mobile home installers appear in discussions of housing trades, construction careers, and the workers who make manufactured housing possible. The work is physically demanding but essential.
Practitioners cite the completion satisfaction and the housing impact as primary rewards. Finishing a home setup is satisfying. The work provides affordable housing. The skills are specialized. The teamwork is valued. Each site presents different challenges. The outdoor work has appeal. Common frustrations include the physical demands and the conditions. Many find that the heavy lifting is significant. Weather affects outdoor work. Travel to remote sites is common. The seasonal fluctuations affect income. Site conditions vary dramatically. The work is hard on the body.
This career requires construction experience and on-the-job training. Strong physical capability, mechanical skills, and precision are essential. The role suits those who want construction work with clear completion. It is poorly suited to those uncomfortable with physical demands, wanting indoor work, or preferring desk jobs. Compensation is moderate for skilled construction labor.
📈Career Progression
📚Education & Training
Requirements
- •Entry Education: Less than high school
- •Experience: Some experience helpful
- •On-the-job Training: Few months to one year
Time & Cost
🤖AI Resilience Assessment
AI Resilience Assessment
Growing + Low Exposure: Steady demand growth for work that AI cannot easily automate
How much of this job involves tasks AI can currently perform
Likelihood that AI replaces workers vs. assists them
(BLS 2024-2034)
How much this role relies on distinctly human capabilities
💻Technology Skills
⭐Key Abilities
🏷️Also Known As
🔗Related Careers
Other careers in installation-repair
🔗Data Sources
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